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Chestnut Angus won 2022 BHSS Supreme Champion Heifer  

Chestnut Angus won supreme champion female at the 2022 Black Hills Stock Show. Photo courtesy of Black Hills Stock Show.
Champion Angus Heifer

Chestnut Queen wasn’t the most likely to win Supreme Champion Heifer at the 2022 Black Hills Stock Show, but she did. 

The supreme title usually goes to a bred heifer, not a heifer calf–which was what Chestnut Queen was–because bred heifers are a year older and more mature than calves.  

But the Queen won the crown.  



Owned by Chestnut Angus and the Johnson family from Pipestone, Minn., the 2021 calf was a member of the 2022 National Western Stock Show Angus Pen Show, and a few weeks later, won her class in Rapid City. 

“She kept getting better and better every day,” said Wesly Johnson. “She looked her best in Rapid City.” 



The heifer had all the characteristics the Johnsons, including Wesly’s parents, Glenn and Sherri, and his younger brother, Dawson, look for in their cattle.  

“She was really feminine,” Wesly said. “She had the style and balance from the side, but if you got behind her, she had a lot of cow power. She was a diverse heifer with showring quality looks but in the real world, the ‘cow’ to go along with it.” 

Chestnut Angus is a seedstock operation with two annual sales: a fall female sale, offering from 50-60 cows and bred heifers, and a bull sale, held the last Wednesday in February, with about 65 bulls and 20 females for sale.  

Their goal, Glenn said, is to raise the best bulls “for people to improve their calf crop and make more money. I want to add pounds to your calves and uniformity and longevity to your cows.”  

The farm began in 1994 when Glenn and Sherri married.  

Last year wasn’t the first time for Chestnut Angus to win a supreme title. They’ve had two supreme bull wins and two heifer wins at the BHSS. “We try to bring our best stuff there to sell,” Glenn said. They’ve also had several top selling bulls and females at the BHSS.  

Wesley showed the heifer in the Angus contest, but younger brother Dawson showed her in the supreme contest.  

But Wesley knows the feeling of being in Supreme Row, showing an animal in front of the pro rodeo crowd during an evening performance of Rodeo Rapid City.  

“It’s a thrill, when you go for supreme, and get the championship slap (from the judge, determining the winner). That’s a huge honor in front of all those people at the rodeo. It’s pretty cool. 

“It’s intense, it’s nerve wracking, and it’s exciting all at the same time. It’s a big honor, and you’re hoping to get the slap and get your name called.”  

The Johnson family loves showing in Rapid City.  

“It’s a nice place to show,” Glenn said. “The facilities are great, the people are great, and it’s only six hours away from us. We just enjoy every aspect of it. It’s a little vacation before we start calving.”  

They love spending time with friends. “Some of these people we only see at different sales during the year. It’s nice to be associated with good cattle people.”